Wingate, N.C.----Wingate University sophomore forward/guard Danasia Witherspoon (Hickory, N.C.) tallied a season-high 22 points with five rebounds as the Bulldogs posted a season-best 97 points in a convincing 97-46 triumph over Mars Hill University in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action from Cuddy Arena and Thomas Koontz Family Court Saturday afternoon.
 
The 97 points are a season-high for Wingate (13-4 overall, 9-3 SAC) and the most for the Bulldogs since a 106-103 double-overtime victory over the same MHU Lions on Dec. 5, 2015. Freshman guard Aliyah Farmer (Salisbury, N.C.) led Mars Hill (3-15 overall, 1-11 SAC) with 14 points and six rebounds.
 
"Today's game was a total team effort," Wingate head women's basketball coach Ann Hancock says. "I thought we did a tremendous job defending. Mars Hill senior guard Paige Chavis (Lexington, N.C.) is a terrific offensive player, so to hold her to three points takes a team effort for sure. We shot the ball well and did a nice job of finding the open player."
 
WU junior center Marta Miscenko (Riga, Latvia) scores double-digit points for the 16th time in 17 starts this season with 15 markers and seven rebounds. Senior guard Shelby Tricoli (Waynesville, N.C.) contributed 14 points, while senior forward Kristina Rumplasch (Mount Airy, N.C.) added 10 points. Junior guard Taziya Moody (Columbia, S.C.) and sophomore forward Zasha Barrett (Monroe, N.C.) notched a season-high and a season-high tying nine points each for the hosts.
 
The Bulldogs swept every major statistical category, outrebounding Mars Hill 43-25 and maintaining the dominant 25-4 edge in total assists. Wingate outscored MHU 55-22 in the paint, while the WU bench outscored the Lion reserves 39-18 in the contest. The 'Dogs converted 24 points off 23 Mars Hill turnovers and won 15-10 in fast-break points.
 
Two Lions posted double figures with freshman guard Aliyah Farmer (Salisbury, N.C.) leading the charge with 14 points and six rebounds. Freshman forward Jenny Edwards (Gainesville, Ga.) scored 11 markers off the MHU bench.
 
A three-pointer from Chavis gave the Lions an early 3-2 lead with 8:42 to go in the opening quarter, but Tricoli answered with a three-point basket of her own to make it a 5-3 Wingate advantage at the 8:26 mark. The Bulldogs never let go of the lead for the rest of the contest.
 
The 'Dogs sprinted out to a 17-9 advantage with 1:18 remaining in the first stanza. A two-point jumper from Witherspoon gave Wingate its first double-digit advantage at 19-9 with eight seconds left. The hosts maintained the 19-9 lead at the break between quarters.
 
Wingate held the double-digit advantage for the entire second quarter with Mars Hill not getting any closer than 11 points in the frame. The Bulldogs grabbed their first 20-point lead on a three-pointer from Moody to make it a 39-19 game with exactly three minutes on the clock. A lay-up from Rumplasch gave the 'Dogs their largest lead of the first half at 21 points. Wingate led by a score of 42-21 at the halftime intermission.
 
Hancock's squad held a 20-plus point advantage throughout the second of play, reaching a 31-point lead at 55-24 on a jumper from Miscenko with 6:04 to play in the third quarter. Wingate led by 34 markers or more for the remainder of the stanza, holding a 68-30 advantage entering the final frame.
 
The Bulldogs continued to dominate in the fourth quarter, as a two-pointer from Rumplasch with 5:31 on the clock gave the hosts a 48-point lead (84-36). The 51-point final margin was Wingate's largest of the rainy afternoon.
 
"We shot the ball well and did a nice job of finding the open player," Hancock says. "I thought we were unselfish and distributed the ball well. The ladies have put in a lot of extra work, which paid off today. It was good to see Shelby get back on track as well as some others getting the opportunity to play."
 
Wingate shot a season-high 55.7 percent (34-of-61) from the floor, while the WU defense held Mars Hill to only 29.1 percent shooting (16-of-55). The Bulldogs hit five-of-nine shots from three-point range (55.6 percent). The Lions were only two-of-13 (15.4 percent shooting) from beyond the arc.
 
The 'Dogs are back in action Wednesday evening for a SAC road encounter versus Lenoir-Rhyne for a 6 p.m. tip-off. Mars Hill visits Anderson in a conference match-up on the same day and time.
 
(Wingate University athletic media relations/sports network student assistant Jackson Kaplan contributed this article. A sophomore from Raleigh, Kaplan is a Communication Studies major at Wingate.)